Nottingham
St Andrew

Organ

The organ that now resides in St. Andrew's had been originally built for and installed at Nottingham St. Mary's, where it remained for the best part of a century. It is believed that around 1776, Samuel Wise, the organist of St. Mary's, succeeded in persuading the church officials to commission a new organ, to be built by the renowned organ builder, John Snetzler. Inscribed on the great soundboard, which is mounted to the side of the organ (now in St Andrew's), is the following legend: ‘John Snetzler fecit Londini 1776’. The organ is said to have originally cost £800 and allegedly King George III provided the timber for the instrument; however, no evidence has been found to support these claims. The organ was unveiled at St. Mary Church in June 1777.

By the mid 1860s the instrument was considered by some to be in need of modernising. The local firm Lloyd and Dudgeon was employed to clean, modify and re-erect it in the north aisle of St. Mary's. Lloyd and Dudgeon proposed further alterations; however, it was discovered that as part of the work, they had removed the four lowest pedal pipes without having been sanctioned to do so. Whilst the pipes were reinstated and the account of £122 12s. 0d. was settled, the annual report of 1867 stated that; ‘the organ in its present position is almost useless; it cannot be used with the choir and we never can have really effective music, until the organ is erected in the Chancel. This could best I believe be done, by placing the machinery and the swell organ over the vestry’.

In 1871 it was arranged that the organ, which by this point had been rebuilt several times, be sold to St. Andrew's. However, when St. Andrew's first opened in October 1871, it lacked an organ and in the absence of such an instrument, a harmonium was used to provide musical accompaniment to the hymns at the consecration ceremony. The aforementioned harmonium was used until the Snetzler organ from St. Mary's was acquired later that year at a cost of £150. The ‘excellent acoustic properties’ of the newly consecrated church were commented upon in the Nottingham Journal on 10 October 1871. Later that year, a Snetzler organ and 17th-century oak lectern were transferred from St. Mary's to St Andrew’s.

In 1876 the Snetzler organ was re-built by Bishop & Starr at a cost of £400. In 1898 the organ underwent a ‘complete restoration and extension’ by the Huddersfield-based organ builders Peter Conacher & Co., and was said to have been carried out in ‘the most satisfactory manner’. In addition to the restoration a case designed by the architect and diocesan surveyor of the Archdeaconry of Nottingham, Arthur Ernest Heazell of Messrs. Heazell and Sons, was built to house the organ. The total cost of works was £730. A bazaar held in the Mechanics' Lecture Hall in November 1899 helped to raise £470 towards the organ rebuilding fund.

During the 1905 extension of St. Andrew's, the organ was moved from the ground floor to a purpose-built loft. Rebuilding the organ whilst retaining the original Snetzler stops was carried out by Charles Lloyd in 1914 at a cost of £500. In 1920 a new organ case of carved and panelled oak was fitted. The case and also the carved oak chancel stalls, which had been installed the previous year, were the gift of Richard Wilkinson to commemorate fifty years of married life. During the 50th anniversary celebrations of 1921 the organ was cleaned and tuned by Charles Lloyd. It was re-built again in 1934 by Hill, Norman & Beard. In 1970 the Snetzler organ was stated to require £2,000-3,000 of restoration work; however, it is uncertain whether these works, envisaged as part of the centenary celebrations, were carried out.

The National Pipe Organ Register provides the following information which dates from 1932 survey:

Nottinghamshire Nottingham, St. Andrew, Mansfield Road [A00040]
Anglican Parish Church
Grid ref: SK5641
Survey date: 1932
Organ playable

Builders

1876           Bishop

see N13543

1898           Bishop

Additions

1914           Lloyd & Co

Renovation

1926           Roger Yates

Tuba added

Cases

            Position  N Transept gallery  

Department and Stop list

Pedal Key action EP  Stop action El  Compass-low C  Compass-high f1  Keys 30
             1 Subbass 32 l open to G, + acoustic quint
             2 Open Diapason 16 l Ext. 1
             3 Violone 16 c No. 16
             4 Bourdon 16 b
             5 Octave 8 b No. 2
             6 'Cello 8 c No. 3
             7 Bass Flute 8 b No. 4
             8 Trombone 16 l Wood/Metal
Choir Key action EP  Stop action El  Compass-low C  Compass-high c4  Keys 61 Enclosed
             9 Gamba 8 b Spotted metal
             10 Lieblich Gedackt 8 b
             11 Dulciana 8 b
             12 Harmonic Flute 4 b from tenor C
             13 Orchestral Oboe 8 l
             14 Clarinet 8 b
             15 Tuba Magna 8 y Unenclosed No.45
Great Key action EP  Stop action El  Compass-low C  Compass-high c4  Keys 61
             16 Contra Gamba 16
             17 Bourdon 16 s Wood/metal
             18 Open Diapason I 8 l
             19 Open Diapason II 8 c
             20 Open Diapason III 8 s
             21 Hohl Flote 8 l
             22 Rohr Gedackt 8
             23 Principal 4 l
             24 Rohr Flote 4
             25 Twelfth 2 2/3
             26 Fifteenth 2
             27 Sesquialtera III s
             28 Tromba 8
Swell Key action EP  Stop action El  Compass-low C  Compass-high c4  Keys 61 Enclosed
             29 Bourdon 16 b
             30 Open Diapason 8 c
             31 Viola 8 c Stopped metal
             32 Stopped Diapason 8 s Wood/metal
             33 Salicional 8 c
             34 Voix Celeste 8 c
             35 Principal 4 s
             36 Suabe Flote 4 b open metal
             37 Mixture III c 17-19-22
             38 Cornopean 8 c
             39 Oboe 8 c
Solo Key action EP  Stop action El  Compass-low C  Compass-high c4  Keys 61 Enclosed
             40 Viol d'Orchestre 8 l
             41 Viole Celeste 8 l
             42 Concert Flute 8 l Harmonic trebles
             43 Tuba 8 l Harmonic trebles
             44 Waldhorn 8 y
             45 Tuba Magna 8 y Unenclosed, Harmonic trebles

Console

Pedalboard  Wesley-Willis  

Couplers

Swell to Pedal

Swell to Great

Swell to Choir

Swell octave

Swell suboctave

Swell unison off

Choir to Great

Choir to Pedal

Choir octave

Choir suboctave

Choir unison off

Great to Pedal

Great octave

Great suboctave

Great unison off

Solo to Pedal

Solo to Great

Solo Sub Octave

Solo Octave

Details

Blowing Electric  

Accessories

Gt/Ped pistons coupled (rocking tablet) Tremulants to Swell (pedal), Choir (rocking tab), Solo 3 thumb pistons to Choir 5 thumb pistons to Great 5 thumb pistons to Swell (one of each adjustable) 3 thumb pistons to Pedal 3 toe pistons to Great 3 toe pistons to Swell Reversible piston: Gt to Ped

Further information

The electric blower was added in 1928 Wind Pressures - Solo 7" Tuba Magna 15" Pipe derivation: s Snetzler c Conacher l Lloyd y Yates b Bishop